Post date: Jul 15, 2013 6:47:43 PM
Israel's Foreign Ministry calls on the Polish parliament to amend what it described as an "appalling" decision to ban Kosher slaughter.
JERUSALEM (JULY 15, 2013) (REUTERS) - Israel criticised on Monday (July 15) the extension of Poland's ban on kosher meat production, saying it damaged efforts to rehabilitate Jewish life in a country whose large Jewish community was all but wiped out in the Holocaust.
Citing animal cruelty, Warsaw lawmakers on Friday (July 12) rejected a government-backed bill that would have allowed slaughterhouses to produce meat in accordance with Jewish ritual law.The practice was halted last year by a constitutional court ruling.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said it was disappointed by the parliamentary vote, which it called "unacceptable".
"We have received the news on the latest decision by the Polish parliament to ban Kosher slaughter with shock. I mean, we thought it was appalling that, jewish life having been part and parcel of Polish history ever since forever, now Jews will be prohibited from performing one of their most ancient and important rituals," saidYigal Palmor, the Israeli Foreign ministry spokesman.
He added: "Poland is the only country in the European Union to impose such a ban. And we believe that this is in clear contradiction with the new democraticPoland stand as an open, tolerant and modern country. We call on the Polish parliament to review this decision and we call on all relevant parties in Poland to find a way to amend this unacceptable situation."
The Holocaust almost eliminated Poland's Jewish community, Europe's biggest before World War Two broke out in 1939. Nazi concentration camps including Auschwitz and Treblinka were located on Polish soil.
Some Polish Jewish groups have also said prejudice about their faith played a part in the anti-kosher measures.
Usually, slaughterhouses stun livestock before killing them, while kosher rites demand an animal is killed by slitting its throat while it is alive and bleeding it to death. The halal meat consumed by observant Muslims is killed in a similar way.
The bill's defeat was a setback for Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has sought to strengthen ties with Israel.